


We Were Once Connected At The Hip

by knightswhosay



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Depression, F/M, Suicidal Thoughts, possible attempted suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 10:39:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2847971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightswhosay/pseuds/knightswhosay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Momoi has been part of Aomine’s life since before he can remember, as well as his life’s designated driver. But when Momoi’s starts disappearing from his life, he has to try muddling through it on his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Were Once Connected At The Hip

**Author's Note:**

> Completely accidental that I’m publishing this at Christmas time, but I suppose it’s appropriate since I’ve been working on this, off and on, all semester. That being said, it is not overly full with holiday cheer.

The first time it happens, there is nothing wrong. So what Satsuki doesn’t want to go shopping with him. It’s not like she’s never turned down an invitation before. She used to do it all the time when they were little, telling him over the phone that her mom said she had to clean up or that she too much homework or whatever. He gets it; not even best friends want to see each other twenty-four seven.

Instead, he calls Kagami, because he’s back from America during break, and they go play a few rounds at a court somewhere in the city.

A few days later, he runs into her between classes. She looks tired, but that’s not unusual. Nor is her greasy ponytail or her sweatpants, although it’s more indicative of finals week than a week of normal classes. Satsuki usually tries to look at least half put-together.

“Hey.”

“Dai-chan.” She smiles. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come the other day. I hope you got a good pair.”

“I didn’t go shopping, actually. I played ball with Kagami.”

“Oh.”

“I was hoping you could come with me this week.”

She looks away. “Oh. Maybe.”

Daiki is a little concerned. She really must be tired. She’s normally the one who carries the conversations. “Yeah. Every time Kagami gets back from America he’s better.”

“Oh yeah? Is he beating you every game yet?’

“No,” Daiki says sourly.

She laughs and Daiki relaxes a little. “So how is Murasakibara-kun? And Himuro-kun?”

“Kagami says they’re doing good, although according to him Murasakibara isn’t any better at English.”

She laughs again and Daiki smiles. Then she pulls out her phone and checks the time. “Dai-chan?”

“Yeah?”

“I need to go to class.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“So I’ll see you later.”

“Shopping this weekend?”

“Maybe. I might have too much work.” She waves and then half-walks, half-runs away. Daiki pulls out his own phone to check the time. He still has an hour and fifteen minutes until his next class, probably enough time to get to his dorm and grab something (ie ramen) to eat.

He’s halfway there when he remembers comparing schedules with Satsuki at the beginning of the semester and discovering that all of their classes were at the same time. Which meant that she sure had been in some hurry for a class that didn’t start for another hour. Weird.

-

He calls her Saturday morning to remind her that they were going shopping for basketball shoes later that day.

“ _Momoi Satsuki speaking_.”

“Hey.”

“ _Dai-chan_.”

“I thought I could pick you up about three and after we finished we could go to dinner or something.”

“ _…I’m sorry but I can’t go. I’ve got too much work._ ”

“Again?”

“ _Yes._ ”

Daiki whines, “But Satsuki, how am I supposed to pick out the best pair? You’re the one who knows all the research.”

“ _I suppose you’ll just have to do all the research yourself this time,_ ” she says, curtly.

Shit.

“Satsuki, I didn’t mean—”

“ _It’s okay. I know what you meant. I just—I just can’t go._ ”

“Okay.”

“ _You should ask someone else, if you want company._ ”

“Okay. Thanks.” Daiki hesitates, then presses the red end-call button. He looks around his dorm room, surveying the multitude of crap (neither he nor his roommate are tidy) before his eyes find his basketball shoes. He really does need new ones. So he calls the next most frequently called number in his phone.

“Tetsu.”

“ _Good morning, Aomine-kun_ ,” Kuroko says, his voice foggy with sleep.

“Were you still asleep?”

“ _No. I have been awake for awhile, but haven’t gotten out of bed_.”

“Oh. Good. Look, Tetsu, can you come shopping for basketball shoes with me today?”

“ _Aomine-kun,”_ Kuroko says, patient _, “I am living in_ _Osaka_.”

“Oh. That’s right.” Daiki feels stupid for forgetting. “Sorry.”

“ _Doesn’t Momoi-chan usually go shopping with you_?”

“Yeah. But she can’t today. Too much work.”

“ _I see. You could call Kagami-kun. He’s back—_ ”

“I know that.”

“ _In that case,_ ” Kuroko says, deadpan, “ _I believe Kise-kun has a photo-shoot in Tokyo today. You could meet up with him_.”

Oh, Daiki knows alright. Kise sent out a group text the previous day, all aglow in emoticons. Daiki does not want to see Kise post photo-shoot. The experience is a lot like witnessing post-coital bliss except that Kise fucking trails both glitter and fangirls.

“I think I’ll call Kagami. Thanks, Tetsu.”

-

He goes shopping with Kagami and they have a blast. It does take Daiki a while to pick his final choice of shoe because he’s not quite sure which one’s better and Kagami complains, but then they go to Maji-Burger for dinner and Kagami tells him all about going to university in America and all of the great basketball games he gets to see thanks to Alex’s connections.

It’s not until later that night, when Daiki’s getting ready for bed, that he remembers that Kagami’s back in Japan only for a few weeks until his break is over. Hopefully, Satsuki will be done with her project by then (because surely that’s what it is; having too much work is the easiest excuse in the book, but Satsuki wouldn’t skive him off two weeks in a row). He pushes it to the back of his mind. He sleeps badly that night.

-

The next day at practice, Daiki sprains or tears (he doesn’t really care to remember) one of his ligaments. It’s not a bad injury, but puts him out of commission for a few weeks. He’s not too unhappy about having to miss practice, but it means that he suddenly has hours of more free-time and nothing to do with it. He spends the first couple of days bumming around his dorm room, playing video games, until his roommate somehow finds a way to sneak a girl into the boys’ dorms and tells him to fuck off.

Daiki tells him to fuck off too, but leaves anyway, deciding to let his roommate get some for once. As he walks out of the dorms, he briefly considers calling Midorima, asking him what the fuck did he do wrong recently to insult the stars and what magical object could fix it. He decides against it; he does not want to hear Midorima lectures about injuring himself, although apparently, he does want Satsuki’s as he finds himself outside her apartment door.

He rings the bell. It takes her several minutes to answer the door and when she does, she’s wearing very wrinkled clothes and there are traces of smeared make-up on her face.

“You look like shit.”

She purses her lips. “I’ve been napping.”

“Don’t remember you liking naps. Thought that was just me.” He pushes past her into her apartment. She makes a noise.

“I didn’t say you could come in.”

“So?”

She gives him her largest, most long-suffering sigh, then closes the door and walks to the small kitchen. He sits down on a bar stool. “What would you like to drink? Water? Juice? Soda? Sake?”

“Whoah. You have sake?”

“No. I was being facetious.” She pulls down two glasses from a cabinet, filling them with water, and hands one to Daiki.

He’s looks down at the water disappointedly for a moment, then looks back to her. “Well? Aren’t you going to ask why I’m here?”

“You’re Dai-chan. You don’t need a reason.”

“Yeah, but…right now? At five p.m.? When I should, I don’t know, be at basketball practice?”

Her eyes widen, then narrow, and her expression turning suspicious. Daiki is grateful for its familiarity. “Why aren’t you at practice?”

“You mean you can’t tell?” Daiki makes large gestures with his hands. This achieves nothing except making her purse her lips further. “I injured myself! I tore a ligament or something!”

And then, finally, her eyes rove his body. “I see. Dai-chan you need to be more careful. You haven’t done anything on it since you’ve hurt it, right?”

“Nothing except go to class, play video games, and walk over here.”

“So you played video games during practice yesterday?”

He nods.

“What changed today?”

Daiki considers saying  _my roommate decided he needed to fuck his girlfriend in our dorm room_  but changes it to, “My room mate decided he needed some alone time.”

Satsuki catches on quickly. “With his hand?”

“With his girlfriend.”

“So you came here.”

“Yeah. Where else would I go?”

She smiles a little and takes a sip of water. “You know what you should be doing with all that extra time? Instead of playing video games or whatever?”

“What?” he asks, suspicious.

“You should be studying. You might have started at least listening in class, but your grades still aren’t good.”

“Not everyone is a nerd like Midorima or a good-two-shoes like Tetsu.”

“Then what am I?” she asks, quietly.

“You’re Satsuki.”

“Thanks.”

Daiki drinks the rest of his water in silence. He doesn’t really know what to say. The only things he can think of sound lame and the kind of things you’d ask someone just to pass the time in an elevator ride. Satsuki isn’t helping; she’s just taking dainty sips of her water, setting the cup down, then picking it back up and bringing it to her lips.

“You sure you don’t have any sake in there?”

“No.”

“Too bad. Bet I could beat you in a drinking contest.”

“I believe you have already proven that wrong.”

“Nah. I was just pretending so your feelings wouldn’t be hurt.”

“Whatever you say, Dai-chan.”

The silence grows too much for Daiki and he starts to fidget. He needs to move. He needs to do something, whether that’s playing basketball or decapitating zombies in a video game.

He stands up. “Um. I think I should go now.”

“I’ll walk you to the door.” She walks forward to the front of her apartment. He follows.

“Thanks for the water.”

“No problem.” They reach the door. “Dai-chan, don’t overstress that ligament or else you’ll be out for even longer.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. Take care of yourself too.”

“I will,” she says and closes her door.

-

His roommate is gone when he gets back to his dormroom, although it still smells like sex. Daiki sits down on his bed and stares at his backpack, thrown into the corner of the room, contemplating actually doing his work. His phone vibrates. It’s someone on the team, telling him they’re going to a bar. He decides that that’s exactly what he needs—to get completely trashed.

(And it has been so long too; Satsuki is usually there to stop him before he gets too drunk).

-

He has only a dim recollection of that night’s events: he went to the bar, had a few beers, got into a drinking contest with some of the guys on his team…That’s when his memory gets really fuzzy. He remembers the pulsating music and the roving neon lights and some girl he probably had sex with (she didn’t have large breasts, but Daiki likes sex way too much to be picky; these days, he doesn’t care what gender his partner is).

How he woke up here, on Midorima’s couch, he has no idea. The splitting head-ache is expected, but not the sight of shelves and shelves of lucky items staring him in the face.

Daiki sits up. Midorima’s apartment is as pristine as can be expected. Only the frozen dinner boxes sticking out of the full trash-can indicate that the apartment is not, in fact, inhabited by an android with a collecting fetish.

He stands. As a sheet falls off of him, he realizes that he is shirtless, dressed only in boxers, but he doesn’t care as he can see the coffee maker on Midorima’s counter. He stalks towards it, flips the switch, then realizes the damn thing isn’t going work without putting anything in it.

The door to Midorima’s bedroom opens and the man of the hour emerges, dressed in matching pajamas. He sniffs in Daiki’s direction, heads straight to the coffee maker, and, after shoving Daiki aside, gets to work.

Five minutes later sees the two of them sitting on the sofa, cups of coffee in hand, and Midorima eating toast. When Daiki complains that he didn’t get any toast, Midorima asks him whose couch he slept on last night.

“How did I get here anyway?”

“Apparently, you were taken in for public intoxication. I guess Momoi-chan didn’t answer, so you called me. I’m impressed you managed to even remember this number in such a state.”

“And my clothes?”

“They were soiled. I was able to remove them from you and wash them. They should be in the dryer now.”

Daiki closes his eyes, imagining Midorima pulling his puked-stained clothing off while he was dead to the world. He opens his eyes and looks at Midorima. “Got any aspirin?”

Midorima stares at him, silent. Daiki collapses into the couch with a sigh. “Look, Midorima. Thanks. For picking me up and…whatever else you had to do.”

“I paid a fee.”

“Alright, I’ll pay you back. Have you got any meds?”

Midorima stands up and walks through the doorway into the bathroom. He emerges with a container of painkillers. “Here.” He hands Daiki the container, who promptly knocks down two pills. “Take a shower and drink lots of water. I have to go to my internship at the Instant Care center soon, so you need to get yourself together or call your usual keeper.”

“My usual keeper?”

“Momoi-chan. She’s the one who always keeps you out of trouble. Well, almost always.”

Daiki stands up. “I’m an adult! I can take care of myself.”

“Obviously.” Midorima turns around and returns to his room. He comes back out a few minutes later, dressed in scrubs, and leaves without a -word.

-

The next two weeks pass without incident. Daiki spends most of his time playing video games, although he grows increasingly frustrated until he’s barely able to keep from throwing his controller at the screen. He sees Kagami on the weekends because Satsuki still keeps on making excuses.  _Fine_ , he thinks,  _if she doesn’t want to see me, then I don’t want to see her._

Then Kagami leaves to go back to America. Daiki actually accompanies him to the airport; Kagami seems surprised but Daiki doesn’t want to explain.

The next person on his list of people to hang out with is Kise, but he and Kise never do anything together except basketball, so when they meet up—Kise freshly changed into t-shirt and basketball shorts—he is confused.

“No basketball?”

“Nah. I tore my something-or-other and can’t play for a few weeks.”

Kise gives Daiki a pitying look that makes him want to punch him. “That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

“Does this mean I can take you shopping Aominichii?”

“I bought new shoes a few weekends ago.”

Kise waves his hand. “No, I meant for clothes.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Where to start? No, wait—” Daiki glares at him while he pulls his phone out of his pocket, “I’ve got a better idea. A lot of my twitter fans have been asking me to take pictures with national landmarks. We can go sightseeing!”

“No way. I’m not standing in lines just so you can take a stupid picture.”

“Come on, Aominichii! It’ll be fun!”

Daiki tries to protest more, but Kise grabs his arm and starts pulling him toward the subway, leaving him no choice but to go along. He grumbles a lot at first, especially the first time they get surrounded by a hoard of Kise’s fans, but eventually starts enjoying it. At the end of the day, Daiki has seen a lot more of the tourist locations in Tokyo and has a ton of new followers on the twitter account that Satsuki made him that he never used because Kise tagged him in all of their pictures.

“Today was fun, Aominichii,” Kise says, when they’re about to part at a subway station.

“Yeah. It was.”

“You should take me on dates more often.”

“Dumbass.”

Kise laughs. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised Momoiichi doesn’t have you under lock and key to keep you from re-injuring yourself.”

“She’s not my…not my keeper,” he snarls.

Kise looks a little taken aback. “Um, sorry? Aominichii? Are you two fighting?”

“No.” And that is that. Daiki turns away and walks off to his subway line.

-

_“_ _Hello. You’ve reached the phone of Momoi Satsuki. I’m unavailable right now, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”_

“Hey Satsuki. I was wondering if you’ve finished your project and could go anywhere this weekend. It’s fine if you can’t, I guess, but…yeah. Just give me a call or whatever.”

-

Daiki isn’t one to keep track of time (unless it has to do with basketball) but on the sixth week since he last went shopping with Satsuki someone interrupts his lunch by slamming their tray on his table. He looks up into the face of one very angry Aida Riko.

He blinks. “Do you even go here?”

“Yes, I go here,” she says, with an eyeroll, “surely Momoi-chan has told you that, dumbass.”

He shrugs. Satsuki tells him a lot of things he doesn’t listen to.

“ _Anyway._ Why hasn’t Momoi-chan been coming to classes?”

“What?”

She makes an annoyed sound. “Why hasn’t Momoi-chan been coming to classes? She’s been having me pick up any work, which should be your job really.”

“Is that supposed to be a joke?”

“What do you mean?”

“Satsuki. Not going to class.”

Aida’s eyes widen and she sits down. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Momoi-chan hasn’t been to any of her classes this week. I thought that she must be really sick or something. She certainly looked really bad when I dropped stuff off yesterday, but she won’t tell me what’s wrong. So you don’t know either?”

Daiki doesn’t answer. Instead he stands up. Aida looks up from where she’s just started on her food. “What?”

“You’ve got her stuff from her morning classes, yeah?”

“Yes,” she says, slowly.

“Then lets go give it to her right now.”

“I’m eating. We can go after.”

“You can come with me or I’ll go by myself.”

“Fine,” she rolls her eyes again, “but let’s put our stuff up first.”

-

Daiki lets Aida knock on the door because he isn’t quite sure Satsuki will answer if she knows it’s him. A minute after Aida knocks, the door opens.

“Riko-san. And Dai-chan?” Her voice is slow.

“I brought your stuff,” Aida says, holding out said items. Daiki can’t do anything except stare down at Satsuki: She looks like she hasn’t slept in ages and she doesn’t meet either his or Aida’s gaze.

“Thanks.”

“Satsuki.”

“What.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”

She shrugs.

“Why didn’t you ask me to get your stuff?”

“I had no reason to think you’d do it,” Satsuki says, looking at the ground.

“What! That’s fucking bullshit! And you should know that! I’m not fifteen anymore.”

Satsuki just shrugs and that just makes him angrier.

“Okay, you know what, forget about me. But what about that boyfriend you had? Shouldn’t he be running your errands? Or stick-up-the-ass Midorima. Because, no offense Seirin, but I didn’t know you were close.”

Aomine,” Aida says, “Ishida-san broke up with Momoi-chan.”

Daiki is silent for a moment, and then he starts yelling, “That fucking bastard! I swear if he has anything to do with this, I’ll fucking kill him. I’ll fucking—” he looks around for a nice looking piece of wall to punch, but Aida seems to sense this and moves to intercept him.

“What kind of idiot are you! Calm down! Can’t you see you’re distressing Momoi-chan?”

Daiki freezes and his gaze travels back to Satsuki. Her face is still downcast, but she is gripping the door-frame so tightly that her knuckles are white. “Sorry,” he says, “Sorry Satsuki.”

She doesn’t respond.

“I guess I’ll see you in a few days, when you get better.”

“Yeah,” she says finally.

-

Daiki skips the rest of that day’s classes and goes back to his dorm room to sleep.

-

_This is one of Daiki’s favorite dreams. It is sometime at the beginning of his second year at Teiko, after Kise joined the team but before the summer tournament. They are at a convenience store after completing practice. He and Satsuki_ _are sharing a bench and are really sharing his ice cream too (Satsuki didn’t buy any since she decided she “needed to start eating healthier”)._ _Akashi and Midorima are off to the side, discussing in quiet voices,_ _while Kuroko is next to Murasaikibara, observing everyone. Kise runs up to Daiki._

_“I’ll win next time, Aominecchi!”_

_“Yeah right,” Daiki says, all in good humor._

_Daiki knows what will come next. Kise will appeal to Satsuki and she will say something conciliatory, she will say “I’m sure that whatever happens, you’ll play your best Ki-chan.”_

_Kise pouts and turns to Satsuki. “What do you think, Momoichhi? Will I be able to beat_ _Aominechhi next time?”_

_“No. Haven’t you learned, Kise? You play him over and over again—Aomine is only one can beat Aomine. It won’t ever change.”_

_Daiki stares at Satsuki in horror. This is not what she is supposed to say. Unbidden, his hands move, one to steady her and one to feel her forehead. Unbidden, his voice says, “Satsuki? Is something wrong? Are you sick?”_

_She slaps his hand away. “I’m fine.” She stands up abruptly and the ice cream falls to the ground. He watches it melt._

_“I’m going home,” she announces._

_He stands up immediately. “I walk you home.”_

_“Leave me alone,” she says, quietly._

_“Let me carry your books,” he says and reaches for where they’re tucked under her arm._

_“I said, leave me alone!”_

_Daiki’s outstretched arm falls away and he watches her walk away, into the horizon._

-

He wakes up soaked in cold sweat.

-

A few days later, Daiki calls Kuroko.

“Tetsu. I need your help.”

_“Hello, Aomine-kun.”_

“Tetsu. I really need your help.”

_“_ _Aomine—”_

“Tetsu. I—”

_“Perhaps if Aomine-kun would tell me what’s wrong, instead of repeating himself, I could help.”_

“Sorry. It’s just—something’s wrong with Satsuki.”

_“She is still not going shopping with you?”_

“It’s not just that. It’s not like she’s got a cold or is mad at me—I mean she probably is, but she’s not acting like normal. Satsuki doesn’t avoid things like…like I do. She meets, them, y’know, head on or whatever.”

_“I understand.”_

“And maybe, maybe everyone’s right and I’m this irresponsible person who doesn’t support his friends and that’s why she isn’t telling me anything—”

_“Aomine-kun_ ,  _you are not a bad person. If you were not a good friend, you would not care. You would not be calling me now.”_

“Thanks, Tetsu.”

_“So I gather you have not seen Momoi-chan recently.”_

Daiki takes a deep breath in. “No. No, I haven’t. Not really. She’s been weird, and she even started missing classes. I didn’t find out about that until I ran into Aida at lunch. She’d been getting her to get all her school stuff. I went with her to drop off school stuff because I didn’t think Satsuki’s stopped answering when it’s just me. And she just—Fuck! I just don’t know what’s wrong!”

_“Aomine-kun—”_

“So can you call her, please? She’ll actually listen to you.”

_“I will call her. But I think that she is less likely to tell me what’s wrong than you.”_

“Yeah?” He isn’t convinced.

_“_ _Aomine—no…Daiki-kun, listen. If you were undergoing great stress, who would you want there with you?”_

“I know what you want me to say, but it isn’t true. She didn’t seem to help much last time, not for lack of trying.”

_“I think you’re wrong. But that’s not what I asked. I didn’t ask what would fix the problem. I asked who you would want there with you.”_

“Yeah…I guess…I guess you’re right.”

_“_ _I believe that Momoi-chan probably feels the same way. I will still call her. However, you should not cease trying to find what’s wrong for yourself.”_

“Yeah…you’re right, again. Thanks, Tetsu.”

_“_ _I hope Momoi-chan starts getting better soon.”_

-

_“_ _Hello. You’ve reached the phone of Momoi Satsuki. I’m unavailable right now, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”_

-

“Satsuki. Hi. I’m sorry for the other day. Please call me.”

-

“Hey. It’s Daiki. Wondering if you could call me. I’d like to talk to you.”

-

“Hey. It’s Daiki, again. Please call me.”

-

“Satsuki, I hope you’re not still angry. I’d like you to call.”

-

“Satsuki, please call me.”

-

Daiki is careful not to call more than once a day. He does not want to annoy Satsuki, he just really wants her to call back.

After a week of no response, he calls Kuroko again and Kuroko tells him that while he did successfully get Momoi-chan to pick up, she masterfully avoided Kuroko’s questions and his invitation to visit him in Osaka that weekend. Daiki gets Aida’s phone number from Kuroko and calls her next.

“ _It’s odd,_ ” she says, “ _She started coming to classes again after last week, and she seemed to be getting better, but she didn’t come to class today._ ”

“Shit. I need to check on her. She’ll hate me forever if she’s fine, but…fuck!”

“ _Yeah,_ ” Aida agrees, “ _you should go._ ”

-

It takes him five minutes to run from his dorm to Satsuki’s apartment, a trip that normally takes him a good fifteen minutes to walk. He slides to a stop outside her door, panting like he’s in the final quarter of a game. He knocks on the door.

“Satsuki! Satsuki are you in there?”

Silence.

“Satsuki! I have to talk to you!”

More silence. Daiki knocks again.

“Satsuki! I’m worried! And if you don’t open this door right now, I’m gonna ram it open!”

There is still no response, and Daiki does not even think of how angry Satsuki would be as he takes a few steps backward in order to gain momentum before running into the door. His shoulder hits the door, hard, and the door groans, but holds. He backs up again, as far as he can, and runs.

The cheap door splinters and breaks, and he keeps on running, through her tiny living room and kitchen and into her bedroom. Then he sees her.

“Fuck! Fuck! Satsuki, wake up!” She is lying on the bed, pink halo of hair at odds with her gaunt face. He shakes her. “Satsuki! Wake up!”

He sees an open pill bottle on her bedside table. He suddenly can’t think, can’t breathe. He—

He pulls out his phone and dials.

“ _This better be important,_ ” Midorima hisses, “ _I’m at work and—_ ”

“Shut up!” Daiki screams, “Shut up! I can’t wake Satsuki and there’s fucking pills next to her bed and I don’t know what to do!”

Midorima’s sharp inhale sounds like Daiki feels.

“Fuck! Shintarou! Tell me what to do!”

“ _Check her pulse_.”

Daiki can do this. He can. He presses his fingers to her throat, feels nothing, tries again. “It’s there.” He can breathe again. “She’s alive.”

“ _Good._ ”

“What do I…What do I do now?”

“ _I’m sending an ambulance to you_.”

“But I—”

_“No. Whatever you_ _'re thinking of, you're in no condition to do. You'd endanger Momoi._ ”

“But—”

“ _No_.”

Daiki exhales. He looks down at Satsuki, gripping his phone like a lifeline. He can hear the background noise of Midorima’s clinic, Midorima’s battlefield voice issuing commands to people inside. Now that he’s listening, he can hear Satsuki’s breathing too.

“ _Okay. There’s an ambulance on its way._ ”

“Right.”

“ _What type of pills are they?”_

“Uh…” Daiki lifts up the pill bottle. “Sleeping pills, I think. Yeah.” He reads out the name and the other information on the bottle to Midorima.

“ _Okay. I’ve sent that_ _information to the ambulance.”_

Silence. The silence beats loudly in Daiki’s ear. Midorima does not help him break it. Daiki swallows. “So…so what do I do now?”

“ _Keep checking her pulse. Try to wake her up, if you can. Don’t do anything stupid.”_

“Yeah. Got it.”

“ _…_ _I can stay on the phone while you wait, if you want.”_

Daiki doesn’t hear him. He has gone back to staring at Satsuki, his fingers hovering above her cheek. “Satsuki,” he whispers, “Please wake up.” She murmurs something in her sleep and turns over on her side.

-

“Daiki.”

“Daiki.”

He opens his eyes to see a pale hand withdraw from his shoulder. He looks for its owner. Satsuki is sitting up in her hospital bed. He beams. “Satsuki! You’re awake!”

“I am.” She looks around at her surroundings. “I’m at…the hospital?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Uh…” Daiki rubs the back of his neck. “You had, uh, overdosed on sleeping pills.”

“Oh.  _Oh._ ” Her eyes widen, and she suddenly looks like she’s about to cry. “Daiki, it was an accident. I promise, I didn’t mean to—I didn’t—”

Daiki launches himself out the visitor’s chair to hug her, sheets and all. She sniffs into his shoulder. His eyes start getting wet too. “They all brought flowers for you. Tetsu, Midorima, Kise, Akashi, Murasakibara, Aida…even that guy.”

“That guy?”

“Imayoshi.”

Satsuki lets out a half-laugh, half-sob. “Good thing I’m not allergic.”

“Your parents wanted to stay overnight too, but I didn’t think…your father…I told them you wouldn’t want them to worry about you.”

“I don’t want you to worry about me either.”

“Sorry, not happening.”

“You don’t sound sorry.” She laughs a little. He lets go and sits back on the bed. “How did they let you stay anyway? I thought non family members—”

“That was Midorima. He’s been really helpful. I’ve almost forgiven him for having something stuck so far up his ass that—”

Someone coughs and Daiki turns to see Midorima standing a few feet into the room. He glares at Daiki, but then he approaches Satsuki, lips turned faintly at the corners. “I’m glad you’re awake, Momoi-san.”

“So formal,” she teases.

Midorima pinks. “I am glad,” he insists. “I thought you should know, that Daiki performed admirably when he—when you—that is, he was very responsible, no…comments or anything.”

“I’m not a kid you know,” Daiki snaps.

Midorima grows even pinker. Satsuki smiles. Her face still looks very gaunt and haggard but her smile, at least, is the same. “Of course not. I never doubted you, Dai-chan. I’d trust you with my life, just as you would me.”

“I believe,” Midorima says, “That is the right decision.” He turns to leave.

“Midorima.” Daiki gets an idea and grins, “No,  _Shintarou_.”

Midorima whirls back around, face bypassing pink and going straight to red. “What!?”

“You too. Thanks for helping me.”

Midorima nods and practically flees from the room.

Satsuki is still smiling. “Midorin is the same old Midorin.”

“Yeah.”

Her smile falls. She doesn’t look unhappy, exactly, just very very tired. “I’m really sleepy Daiki. I know I’ve just slept for…but I’m really sleepy.”

“Yeah. I thought you might be.” He’s no longer smiling either, his expression almost a reflection of hers.

She reaches out and squeezes his hand with hers. “What’s wrong Dai-chan?”

It’s surprising how often he forgets how perceptive she is, considering how long they’ve known each other. “It’s, uh,” he rubs his neck, “I don’t know if it’s right to ask.”

“It’s alright, Dai-chan, whatever it is.”

He really doesn’t want to distress her more by asking, but at the same time, he feels like he has to know. “It’s just, you will get better, won’t you? Because I worry about you. I mean, I don’t want you to get better because I worry about you. I want you to get better because it’s you. I mean also because I worry about you, but I know it’s not all about me and I don’t think it’s all about me and—”

She squeezes his hand again, looking just a bit exasperated. “Dai-chan. I know. I understand. I’ve already imagined this scenario hundreds and hundreds of times. It’s okay.”

“Yeah. Of course you have.”

She smirks, just a bit, and it’s the first time Daiki’s seen that particular expression in months. “As for whether I’ll get better,” she shrugs, “I like to think that I probably will. But it’s not going to happen overnight, you need to understand that. And you…you’ll help…I’ll try to let you help, but even that isn’t going to change everything. I mean probably. I don’t know, I can only guess.”

“Your guesses are normally right.”

She smirks again, just a little. “Yeah, they usually are.” She squeezes his hand again, then lets go, falling back into her pillows. She pulls the sheets up to her shoulders. “Now,” she says, in her business-like tone that Daiki usually doesn’t listen but the one that, today, he decides to make an exception, “Now I am going to go back to sleep and you are going to talk me to sleep.”

“Talk you to sleep?”

“Yep. Like being sung to sleep, except I won’t ask that, because I’ve heard your singing voice.”

“Hey!”

“Just talk about whatever. Like, whatever’s going on in basketball practice, or what Tetsu’s done recently, or even the newest released gravure magazine or whatever. I don’t care. Just talk. I don’t want to fall asleep to silence.”

“Okay.” He fidgets, then stands up, off of the hospital bed, making it creak. “I’m going to sit back down in the chair.”

“Yes, yes,” she waves her hand, “make yourself comfortable.”

He does so, and then he starts talking. He tells her about basketball practice, about how one of the seniors told him—grudgingly—that they might let him on the first string next semester, then moves on to the recent postcard he got from Kagami, and Kise’s most recent magazine, which he’d actually bought in the hospital the time he left her room to go eat. He goes on and on and on—honestly, Daiki’s not that talkative and this the most he’s talked in ages—and when he looks up, she’s asleep. But the corner of her mouth is lifted up in what could be the beginning of a smile or smirk. He wonders what she’s thinking about—probably some scheme to get him on first string sooner or to persuade Aida to coach a kiddie girl’s basketball team with her—something mildly nefarious, but actually quiet generous and something very very her.  

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t really dealt with depression in fics before, so I hope I dealt it justice. The heart of this story was really relevant in my life when I started writing this, so it was really cathartic to write. I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
